Passenger seat, an aircraft passenger seat in particular

ABSTRACT

1. A passenger seat, an aircraft passenger seat in particular  
     2. In a passenger seat, an aircraft passenger seat in particular, having seat components such as seat carrier ( 9 ), seat element, backrest ( 3 ), and arm rest, it being possible to place at least one seat component in selected positions relative to other seat components and to lock it in these positions by means of a controllable fastening mechanism, the seat bottom ( 7 ) of the seat element is mounted so as to be pivotable about at least one pivot axis ( 15, 19 ) in relation to the seat carrier ( 9 ).

The invention relates to a passenger seat, an aircraft passenger seat in particular, with seat components such as seat carrier, seat element, backrest, and arm rest, it being possible to place at least one seat component in selectable positions relative to other seat components and to lock it in these positions by means of a controllable fastening mechanism.

Known passenger seats of this kind are widely used in vehicles for passenger transportation such as buses, ferries, and especially aircraft in commercial aviation. Since use of such seats may entail extended travel periods, as is the case with long-distance flights, the possibility of adjusting the position of seat components represents an essential aspect of improving the comfort afforded a seat occupant. The seat occupant is thereby enabled to move the respective seat components from a standard or safety position such as is prescribed in aircraft for phases of operation represented by taxiing, takeoff, and landing into adjusted positions desired by the passenger which meet passenger needs by offering the highest possible comfort, for example, by a making a rest or sleeping position available.

In view of such demands the object of the invention is to make available a passenger seat offering the seat occupant adjustment options which make an especially great contribution to improvement in seating comfort.

It is claimed for the invention that this object is attained by a passenger seat having the characteristics specified in claim 1 in its entirety.

In that, as specified in the characterizing part of claim 1, the bottom of the seat element is mounted so that its position may be varied, the tilt of the seat component as especially important for seating comfort may be adjusted to achieve optimal satisfaction of the needs of the seat occupant. Adjustment of the tilt of the bottom of the seat about a pivot axis extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the seat can increase comfort greatly, for example, for a back-tilted resting or sleeping position, with a leg rest possibly present in a raised position and the backrest tilted backward.

In advantageous exemplary embodiments the seat bottom is mounted so as to be pivotable relative to the seat carrier about pivot axes forming an angle relative to each other, the pivot axes preferably extending vertically relative to each other.

In such exemplary embodiments the seat bottom may be connected to the seat carrier by way of a hinge configuration. The latter may be in the form of a universal joint, so that the seat bottom may be pivoted about two pivot axes mutually perpendicular to each other, it being possible, for example, to tilt the seat bottom forward and backward and to the left and the right and for one of these tilted positions to overlap the other.

A so-called hydrolock piston/cylinder element may be introduced as controllable fastening mechanism by means of which the seat occupant can lock the seat bottom in a selected adjusted position or tilted position, or a plurality of such elements may be introduced between seat carrier and seat bottom.

In place of a universal joint the joint configuration may, in an alternative design, have two moving joints between seat bottom and seat carrier which are displaced relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of the seat for locking a pivot axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the seat, and, for formation of another pivot axis extending in the transverse direction of the seat, one of the moving joints being configured as a ball-and-socket joint and the other as a tenon-and-slot joint enabling pivoting and horizontal displacement.

In one advantageous exemplary embodiment the moving joint between rear areas of seat carrier and seat bottom is configured as a ball-and-socket joint and the tenon-and-slot joint is in contrast positioned on a joint carrier farther to the front. This joint carrier may have arms which extend on both sides of the pivot axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the seat, transversely to this direction along the seat bottom, while use may be made between seat carrier and the ends of the arms of the joint carrier of hydrolock elements of the fastening mechanism which permit both displacement and pivoting movement into adjusted positions and locking in these adjusted positions. In this configuration the hydrolock elements not only perform a locking function with respect to the pivoting movement about the pivot axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the seat, but also perform a dual function as the support elements for the front area of the seat bottom, the length of the support elements defining the tilt of the seat bottom about the pivot axis extending in the transverse direction of the seat.

The invention is described in detail in what follows with reference to exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing, in which

FIG. 1 presents a greatly simplified diagram of a perspective diagonal view of an exemplary embodiment of the passenger seat claimed for the invention in the form of an aircraft passenger seat;

FIG. 2 a greatly simplified perspective partial view in the form of a transparent sketch illustrating the gimbal bearings of the seat bottom of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 a perspective diagonal bottom view exclusively of the seat bottom and seat carrier area of a second exemplary embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 a longitudinal section along the intersecting line IV-IV indicated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 1 presents a diagram of an aircraft passenger seat with a seat component 1, backrest 3, and side arm rests 5. The seat bottom in the form of a seat shell (not visible in FIG. 1) performing the function of carrier element for the seat component 1 is designated as 7 in FIG. 2. The seat bottom 7 is mounted on a seat carrier 9 extending in the transverse direction of the seat and is mounted above the respective cabin floor by way of a pedestal 11.

As is shown in the diagram in FIG. 2, the seat bottom 7 is mounted on the seat carrier 9 on gimbals by way of a universal joint 13 so that the seat bottom 7 may be tilted to both sides about a pivot axis 15 extending in the longitudinal direction of the seat, as indicated by the double arrow 17, and to the front and back about a pivot axis 19 extending in the transverse direction of the seat and perpendicular to the axis 15, as indicated by the double arrow 21. In the present example the pivoting range may be plus or minus 10° in relation to the normal position. A fastening mechanism which, for example, may have a hydrolock element unlockable optionally by the seat occupant introduced between seat bottom 7 and seat carrier 9 or between seat bottom 7 and another structural element of the seat, is for the sake of greater simplicity not illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The designation “hydrolock element” relates to commercially available hydromechanical locking cylinders which may be unlocked by actuation of a valve.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a modified example in which a hinge configuration of different design is provided between seat carrier 9 and seat bottom 7 in place of the universal joint 13. As in the first exemplary embodiment the seat carrier 9 is represented by a box-type carrier extending in the direction transverse to the seat, on the rear end 23 of which there is fastened an elbow 25 which functions as bearing block for a ball-and-socket moving joint 27 which is positioned in the rear area of the underside of the seat bottom 7. By preference the ball-and-socket moving joint 27 is configured as a rubber mounting or a mounting with a different type of elastomer bearing packing. In each case the ball-and socket moving joint 27 permits tilting of the seat bottom 7 both about the pivot axis 15 extending in the longitudinal direction of the seat and about the pivot axis 19 extending in the transverse direction of the seat, the moving joint 27 defining the pivot axis extending in the transverse direction of the seat.

A displacement guide 31 having a guide slot 33 open on the top is fastened on the front end 29 of the seat carrier 9, in alignment with the moving joint 27 in the longitudinal direction of the seat. In this guide slot 33 is a guide pin 35 which may be moved during pivoting movement of the seat bottom 7 about the pivot axis defined extending in the transverse direction of the seat, which pivot axis is defined by the moving joint 27. This pin 35 guided in the guide slot 33 is mounted on a joint support 37 which is connected in the front area of the seat bottom 7 to the underside of the latter. The joint support 37 has two arms 39 projecting from both sides of the guide pin 35 in the transverse direction of the seat. Each of the arms 39 is hinge-connected on its end to the piston rod of a hydrolock element 41 which is mounted by its opposite, cylinder end on an associated bearing block 43. Such bearing blocks 43 are positioned on the front end 29 of the seat carrier 9, displaced outward toward both sides opposite the displacement guide 31, to a position more or less below the associated side edge of the seat bottom 7.

The hydrolock elements 41 controllable by the seat occupant form between seat bottom 7 and seat carrier 9 support elements extending diagonally, the effective length of which determines the tilt of the seat bottom 7 about the pivot axis 19 defined by the moving joint 27 and extending in the transverse direction of the seat, the seat bottom 7 tilting to the rear when the hydrolock elements 41 are extended to their full length or the seat bottom 7 tilting forward when the length of extension of the elements 41 is reduced. If the hydrolock elements 41 are not extended to equal lengths, there results a corresponding tilting of the seat bottom 7 about the pivot axis 15 extending in the longitudinal direction of the seat and defined by the pin 35 in the guide 33. When the hydrolock elements 41 are in the locked position, the seat bottom 7 is locked in the adjusted position selected.

The side tilting of the seat bottom 7 when the hydrolock elements 41 are not extended to equal lengths permits, along with appropriately selected tilting of the seat bottom 7 forward or backward, an especially comfortable seating position of the seat occupant sleeping on his side, optimal support being provided for the pelvis and hip. Tilting of the seat bottom 7 forward provides especially great seating comfort when the seat occupant is in a relatively stretched rest position. 

1. A passenger seat, an aircraft passenger seat in particular, with seat components such as seat carrier (9), seat element (7), backrest (3), and arm rest (5), it being possible to place at least one seat component in selectable positions relative to other seat components and to lock it in these positions by means of a controllable fastening mechanism (41), characterized in that the seat bottom (7) of the seat element (1) is mounted so as to be pivotable about at least one pivot axis (15, 19) in relation to the seat carrier (9).
 2. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seat bottom (7) is mounted so as to be pivotable in relation to the seat carrier (9) about two pivot axes (15, 19) which together form an angle.
 3. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seat bottom (7) is mounted so as to be pivotable in relation to the seat carrier (9) about three pivot axes each forming an angle with the other.
 4. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of the pivot axes (15, 19) extends vertically in relation to the other.
 5. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 4, wherein one pivot axis (15) extends in the longitudinal direction of the seat and one pivot axis (19) extends in the transverse direction of the seat.
 6. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 5, wherein the pivot axis (19) extending in the transverse direction of the seat is in parallel with the axis of the seat carrier (9), which extends in the direction horizontal in relation to the installed position of the seat.
 7. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 5, wherein the seat bottom (7) is connected to the seat carrier (9) by way of a joint configuration (13; 27, 33, 35).
 8. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 7, wherein the fastening mechanism has at least one hydrolock element (41) controllable by the seat occupant for optional blocking and unblocking of the mobility of the joint of the joint configuration (13; 27, 33, 35).
 9. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 7, wherein the joint configuration has two moving joints (27, 33, 35) between seat bottom (7) and seat carrier (9) which are displaced in relation to each other for fastening of a pivot axis (15) extending in the longitudinal direction of the seat, and wherein, for the purpose of forming a pivot axis (19) extending in the transverse direction of the seat, one (27) of the moving joints is configured as a ball-and-socket joint and the other moving joint is configured as a tenon-and-slot joint (33, 35) enabling pivoting and horizontal displacement.
 10. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 9, wherein the moving joint (27) configured as a ball-and-socket joint is mounted between the rearward areas of seat carrier (9) and seat bottom (7) and the tenon-and-slot joint (33, 35) is mounted on a joint support (37) fastened opposite it farther to the front on the seat bottom (7).
 11. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 10, wherein the joint support (37) has arms (39) which extend on both sides of the pivot axis (15) extending in the longitudinal direction of the seat, transversely to this axis, along the seat bottom (7), and wherein hydrolock elements (41) of the fastening mechanism are introduced between seat carrier (9) and the ends of the arms (39) of the joint support (37), which hydrolock elements (41) enable both displacement movement and pivoting movement into adjusted positions and locking in these adjusted positions on the tenon-and-slot joint (33, 35).
 12. The passenger seat as claimed in claim 7, wherein a universal joint (13) positioned between seat carrier (9) and seat bottom (7) is provided as joint configuration. 